


Possession is 9/10th of the Law

by phlintandsteel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Agency issues, Bucky Barnes Recovering, M/M, Ownership Issues, Rated M for Mature Themes, it's for the best, pepper is in charge, salve fic, slave AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 14:48:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17123390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlintandsteel/pseuds/phlintandsteel
Summary: For the prompt from Fluffypanda: "A huge portion of SHIELD's agents were slaves and the Winter Soldier was registered as one of them. When SHIELD and Hydra fall, their assets are sold off, including their enslaved agents. Tony buys as many of them as he can and without knowing it, purchases the Winter Soldier."





	Possession is 9/10th of the Law

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fluffypanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffypanda/gifts).



> In this AU, the Winter Soldier does not have triggers, they weren't deemed necessary by HYDRA because of the mentality of society in this world. I am also nixing the whole "December 1991" issue, because I don't like it. Yes, I could have expanded the themes here to include that issue, but I have several prompts I'm working through, and it's the holidays, so I'm not trying to get into another 100k fic right now, lol. 
> 
> I hope you like it, Fluffypanda!
> 
> __________________________________________________________
> 
> "Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself." - John Locke

Tony lays on the floor beside Pepper’s desk, his legs propped up vertically against it, ankles crossed, with a hand over his eyes, blocking out reality.

 

“Hall Monitors?  No. We don’t want to insult them...  Oh, don’t forget Marta Ortiz Herrera from accounting.  You know, the one who was always hounding me to turn in expense reports for my super-hero-ing and calling me names in Spanish.  And Stacey, her coworker who had all the squirrel themed stuff all over her desk. Stacey whatshername, Stacey… Stacey Wilcoxson.”

 

“Of course, Tony,” Pepper says, continuing to type away.

 

“Did I say Maria Hill yet?  We should definitely get Maria Hill.”

 

“Yes, Tony, you’ve already said Maria Hill,  _ and _ you made JARVIS track down the name of the guy you saw playing Galaga on the helicarrier,” Pepper says, her tone more fond than annoyed.  

 

“Christopher Brighton has been added to the list, sir,” JARVIS confirms.

 

“How many are we up to?” Tony asks, not moving from his position.

 

“Two fifty-ish, give or take a few field agents who we still haven’t been able to confirm are alive yet,” Pepper tells him, refusing to sugar coat it. “If we’d known the government was just going to fire-sale all of SHIELDRA’s  _ assets _ after the Congressional hearing, we might have been able to do more, but…”

 

Tony grimaces under his hand.  

 

“I’m an asshole,” he says tiredly, yet with conviction, “Why can’t I remember more of them…”

 

Pepper takes her eyes off the screen and from her typing, to look at him for a moment.

 

“No, Tony, you’re really not.”

 

“Whatever.  Just buy up the rest of the lots of whoever’s left after that as a bulk purchase.  It’s fucking demeaning, but I won’t let them go to anyone else if we can help it,” Tony instructs her.

 

“Right, I’m placing the individual orders now then,” she says with a click of the mouse.  

 

“Put down the rest as needed for generic ‘secretaries’ or window washers or something, the Tower has enough glass that we just might get away with it at the next shareholders’ meeting, it we’re lucky,” Tony replies, finally picking himself up off the floor.  

 

“Where are you going?” Pepper asks him, queuing up the bulk request.  

 

“Apparently we have a few agents to track down still, so I figured I could work that in, you know, between throwing up in the bathroom for the next 15 minutes, my pedicure at 1pm, and my standing appointment for maintenance on DUM-E this evening, I should have plenty of time,” Tony says flippantly as he walks backward toward the elevator.

 

“You’re doing all you can, Tony,” Pepper says gently.

 

“Well, you know me, Pep, the best just isn’t good enough for  _ Tony Stark _ .  JARVIS, ready the suit.”

 

<//>

 

Thirty-six hours later, Ironman pulls one of the missing agents out of a Ukrainian mafia den.  The man dies in the hospital afterward, with Tony holding his hand, his wounds too numerous to overcome.  

 

“I’ll make arrangements for his body to be brought back to the States.  No, I’ll pay for the treatment he did receive. I didn’t own him but I brought him in, that’s how it works here in Poland, right?” Tony talks with the nurse afterward, letting JARVIS translate for him.  “No, I do want the body. Slaves have families too.”

 

<//>

 

Orientation for SI’s 1800 new employees is of course, on a Monday.  The auditorium doesn’t hold that many people, so they have to bring them in in batches.  After both sessions are already done with though, a lone asset walks in through the front doors.  His hair is too long and his jacket looks like it was plucked off a hobo’s dead body. 

 

“Can I help you, sir?” security stops him right away, before he can make it to the front desk.  

 

The Asset eyes the guard’s badge and branded shirt, marking him as SI property.

 

“My handler is dead,” the man says, as if that explains everything.  And in a way, it does. 

 

The guard nods, looking slightly more sympathetic than before.  

 

“I’m sorry to hear that, man.  Don’t worry, Tony Stark will take good care of you.  He’s giving all you boys the same conversion contract he offers everyone.”

 

The Asset stares at him.  “I require confirmation of the transfer.”

 

“Of course, go see Sylvie at the desk over there, she’ll get you sorted out,” the guard indicates a reception area to the right of the lobby.  

 

The Asset nods, striding toward his goal.  He has heard that SHIELD  _ assets  _ were bought up by Tony Stark.  He has heard them be described as  _ lucky _ .  Since SHIELD and Hydra were one, there is a chance…  If there is any chance that Tony Stark now owns him, he has to know.  One, because the programming demands an official transfer. Two, because The Asset is,  _ malfunctioning _ , and there is nowhere to run.

 

“I need to know if Tony Stark is my new owner,” the Asset says point blank to a receptionist with the name tag reading “Sylvie”.  

 

She takes his curt attitude in stride.  “What’s your serial number?” she asks pleasantly.

 

The Asset blinks, thrown by her request.  Does he have a number? He thinks, he feels like maybe he did once…  A number for reciting when things were bad… But the memory of such a thing slips away from him before he can even see the outline of it.  

 

“I am the Winter Soldier,” he says instead.

 

Sylvie gives him a kind look.  “I’m sorry, sir, but the government’s database is only sorted by serial number, code names are only accessible once inside a file…  Are you sure you don’t have a number?...”

 

The Asset closes his eyes, thinking.  Did Hydra ever give him a number? The other number, the one he  _ felt _ , didn’t feel like it belonged to Hydra…  “Lot number...47?” he says, having a vague recollection of his cryo tube being labeled with that number.

 

“Just 47?  Most agents have a six or eight digit number…”  

 

“I am not an agent.  I am The Asset.”

 

“Ok, we’ll try it with that,” Sylvie says, seeing that no other numbers are going to be forthcoming.  “Huh, well would you look at that. Lot # 47 does exist, alias ‘The Winter Soldier’. Looks like you had been listed as status ‘unknown’ when the purchase went through, but SHIELD updated your record to ‘presumed dead’ shortly afterward,” she says, looking at him more closely.  “I’m going to need to see some ID, or do a fingerprint check if you don’t have one on you, in order to reverse a ‘presumed dead’ status,” she explains.

 

The Asset sheds his jacket, revealing his metal arm out in the open.  “This is my ID. There is only one Winter Soldier.”

 

<//>

 

In the Tower’s penthouse, Tony is downing a smoothie after a two hour power nap on his couch, when he  _ finally  _ gets a call from Steve.  

 

“Have you lost your fucking mind, Rogers?” Tony says by way of greeting, “What the hell were you thinking dumping the identities of hundreds of secret agents on the internet with no warning?”

 

“I’m going radio silent for awhile, we thought you should know,” Steve says, instead of answering him, “We’ve got a couple leads on Hydra bases in Europe that might have been ‘unlisted’, so we’re going to go scope them out.”

 

“ _ We _ ?  I do not have time to go traipsing around Europe right now, I’m too busy cleaning up your’s and Natasha’s messes.  Do you have any idea how many people you got killed with that stunt?” Tony asks, practically seething in frustration and anger.

 

“I didn’t mean we as in you, I meant we as in Sam and Nat,” Steve explains.  “The checkpoint’s coming up, I’ve got to go. We’ll let you know if we find anything,” Steve says, the line going dead immediately afterward.

 

These are the moments that Tony misses talking on actual cell phones, and not through JARVIS’ speakers.  Because at least you can throw a phone when the person on the other end is being a jackass. It figures. He and Steve are always having two different conversations when they talk, no matter what the topic.  

 

“Sir?  There is a situation developing in the lobby of the Tower that may require your intervention,” JARVIS speaks up, interrupting Tony’s brooding.  

 

“What’s up?  Give me a screen,” Tony says right away, pushing aside the issue of Steve in favor of matters closer to home.  A camera feed from reception is in front of him immediately, showing an unkempt man dealing with Mrs. Plaskon. 

 

“The man at reception just described himself as ‘The Winter Soldier’, which registers as a Hydra code name from the data dump, yet his lot number does correspond to one of the assets formerly owned by SHIELD.  Lot # 47 was a batch file transferred from when the organization was still known as the S.S.R.” 

 

Tony’s eyebrows go up, because there is no way the man at reception is old enough to have been owned by the S.S.R.

 

Mrs. Plaskon asks him for ID, and Tony leans forward off the edge of the couch when he sees the gleaming metal arm that the man takes off his jacket to reveal.  

 

“Jesus Christ…” Tony mutters, practically jumping up, “Get me everything you can on this guy, J, mission logs, facial recognition, where the hell he got that, who the fuck is he, etc, etc,” Tony says as he jogs to the elevator.  The doors open automatically and close again just as smoothly. They stop after just a few floors though.

 

“Uh, did you get your circuits in a tangle, J?  The lobby, snap snap,” Tony says when the doors open to his workshop instead.  

 

“Forgive me, sir,” JARVIS says drolly, “I assumed you would want the suit to deal with Hydra’s most infamous assassin, who was recorded going toe to toe with Captain America last week and  _ winning _ ,” he says, popping up numerous screens with the Winter Soldier’s file and footage on them at once.

 

“Christ…  Did you try Steve?  Of course you did. Let me guess, he’s not answering my calls,” Tony grumbles as he runs over and grabs the suitcase suit from DUM-E, who’s wheeling his way to the elevator with it.  

 

“It’s like you’re psychic or something, sir,” JARVIS sighs.  But there’s a slight edge to his voice. “Perhaps I could recommend putting the suit  _ on _ , sir?”

 

“In a minute.  Look, he came in on his own, right?  We don’t want to scare him off by being overly aggressive for no reason.”

 

“Of course.  Because  _ his  _ comfort is paramount in this situation,” JARVIS says flatly.

 

“Save the sass for later, J,” Tony says as the lobby approaches.  

 

“Sir-”

 

“Hold that thought,” Tony orders as he steps out of the elevator, striding toward reception right away.  There’s no point in beating around the bush here. He heads right for Sylvie’s desk, catching her eye with a wave and saving her from the awkwardness of The Asset telling her that he does not have fingerprints anymore.  

 

“Sylvie, isn’t it time for your break?  I’ll finish getting this one checked in,” Tony says with a cheery smile.  She gives him a dubious look, but nods. 

 

“Tony Stark,” Tony says, introducing himself, “You must be this ‘Winter Soldier’ I’ve heard so much about in the last 5 minutes.”

 

“You are Anthony Edward Stark.”

 

“Yep, the one and only.  But call me Tony, please.”

 

“I am ready to comply,” the Winter soldier tells him, his voice sounding especially flat.  

 

Tony raises an eyebrow.  “Riiight… How about we start with getting your arm looked at, hm?” he says, motioning the Winter Soldier toward the elevators.  The man  _ complies  _ right away.  “Seems to me like you’ve taken a little blunt force vibranium damage there,” Tony indicates, waving at the metal appendage.  Which, he won’t lie, he is  _ dying  _ to take a look at, but first things first, he needs to see if he can get this guy  _ out of the lobby  _ peacefully.  

 

“Damage has been sustained to fine motor control systems,” the Winter Soldier agrees, “Plating sections B3, B4, and C3 have sustained heavy damage.  Mission failure attributable to unknown malfunctions within The Asset.”

 

“What mission?” Tony asks as the elevator doors close on them, “Who’s the Asset?”

 

“There are standing orders, Captain America is a kill on sight,” the Winter Soldier tells him.  “I am The Asset.”

 

Jesus Christ...

 

“Ok, first rule under my ownership, there are no more kill orders, got it?  Standing or otherwise. And I’m not going around calling you ‘The Asset’ all the time.  What’s your real name?” Tony asks as they ascend.

 

“I…  I am The Asset.  The Winter Soldier,” he hesitates.

 

“Those are code names, but they’re not  _ real  _ names…” Tony points out gently, starting to get a feeling that this guy may have been extremely fucked up by his last owners…  Which were  _ Hydra _ , so, maybe that’s a given...

 

“I…  He called me…  Bucky. Malfunctions are present,” the Winter Soldier says.

 

“ _ Sir _ ,” JARVIS interrupts them in an uncharacteristic display, “Facial recognition is a 99.99% match to Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

 

Tony pinches the bridge of his nose.  “Yeah, sure Steve, you’re out hunting down  _ Hydra _ …  Good luck with that,” Tony mutters.

 

“Steve?  I… I knew him…” the Winter Soldier says, frowning in a way that makes his face look like it isn’t used to expressing emotion.  He presses a hand against the side of his head, but then quickly drops it. Then he drops to his knees on the floor of the elevator, his hands held behind his back and head bowed.  

 

“Hey, hey, none of that now,” Tony says, reaching to help pull him back onto his feet.  “You’re not going to be punished here for the things like daring to speak ‘out of turn’, ok?  In fact we don’t even do corporal punishment at Stark Industries at all, but I guess you missed orientation, huh…”

 

“The Asset is malfunctioning,” the Winter Soldier says, a slight hitch in his voice.  

 

Tony is at a little bit of a loss.  “I’m not sure what that means, or what you expect to happen next, but it’s not going to be a  _ punishment _ .”  

 

“They use The Chair.  Recalibration.”

 

“Why do I get the feeling that  _ the chair _ is in capitals…  What does The Chair do?” Tony asks as the doors finally open on the workshop.  

 

“The Chair…  It hurts. It hurts so bad that it makes everything go away,” the Winter Soldier says, motioning toward his head.  

 

Tony’s eyebrows go up so far that they’re practically touching his hairline.  While he works on getting the metal arm opened up, he continues to question his newest  _ Asset  _ about his time with his former owners.  What he finds out is enough to make him sick to his stomach.  Especially combined with the blank tone the information is delivered in.  Like the horrific torture this man has gone through was just another mission report.  Tony tries to keep up appearances though, because he isn’t entirely sure this dude won’t snap and try to kill him if he smells weakness or something...

 

“Ok, that should get you functional for now, Bucky,” Tony says, patting the metal plating.

 

“I am not Bucky.  I am the Winter Soldier,” the man reiterates.  

 

Tony has seen enough slaves with identity issues to last him several lifetimes, so he rolls with it.  

 

“Ok, is there a particular reason you don’t think you’re Bucky Barnes?” he asks.

 

“I don’t remember…   _ He  _ called me Bucky, but I don’t…” the Winter Soldier clams up again, stealing what would almost be a sideways glance at Tony if it was given a few years to mature.  

 

They’ll get there though, they’ll get there.

 

“Fair enough.  You mind if I call you ‘Winter’ for now then?” Tony asks, keeping his tone light.  He isn’t usually the one dealing with the intake of severely abused slaves, but he does know the basics.  

 

“You are my owner.”

 

“Yeah,” Tony says, “We’ll talk more about what all that means later, ok?  Right now, you look like a meal and a hot bath are top priority, now that your arm isn’t sparking anymore.”

 

Tony does not like either of the answers he gets as to when Winter last ate or bathed.  

 

“Ok, reality check time.  I cannot house you across the hall from the ladies in accounting, so you’re going to be staying up here in the penthouse with me for the foreseeable future.  Let’s get you some chow, then I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms,” Tony decides.

 

“Ready to comply,” Winter says, standing up right away.  

 

Tony would like to think it’s because he’s eager for food, but that might be giving him too much credit…  It’s honestly probably a conditioned response to seem eager to carry out orders… Christ, this is going to suck.  It figures Hydra’s most infamous assassin would be sold to him in a  _ batch lot _ of SHIELD agents…

 

After Winter is in his own suite, instructed to eat until he’s full, then shower and go to bed afterward, Tony goes back down to his workshop.  With Winter’s need for orders before completing even the most basic of tasks, it looks like he’s been the victim of some extremely extensive conditioning.  

 

“Perhaps brainwashing would be a more accurate term,” JARVIS says after they start reviewing the hacked files from the SHIELDRA data dump.  

 

“I am not equipped to handle this on my own,” Tony says, his jaw hanging slightly open in horror once he gets to the files on The Chair.  

 

“If I may be so bold, sir, I highly doubt anyone is…  But this task has, as they say, fallen to you…”

 

“Don’t get all philosophical on me, J, though you do get bonus points for the Lord of the Rings reference.  It should still be Steve dealing with putting his former bestie back together again, not me,” Tony says, pausing to rub his face.  

 

“I’m not entirely sure that would actually be in Winter’s best interest, sir,” JARVIS points out.  

 

Tony sighs.  “Yeah, I know what you mean…  We’ll get some psychologists and shrinks and stuff on this in the morning.  Give me a screen on Winter, J.”

 

JARVIS pulls up a feed of the man in his room, laying on the bed completely naked.  Tony takes one look at the screen and rolls his eyes. He waves away the feed in the same motion, then runs his hand through his hair and closes his eyes for a moment.  

 

“I specifically didn’t mention anything about clothing, just to see how bad the whole ‘orders’ thing was,” Tony says, half to himself.

 

“I know, sir.”

 

“Relay the location of some pajamas to him, J, and tell me what he does,” Tony instructs.  

 

“...  He has asked for clarification, sir.  He wishes to know if you are ordering him to dress…”

 

“Sure, J, make it an order…” Tony says sadly.

 

<//>

 

There is no such thing as client patient confidentiality for slaves.  The therapists they keep on file for SI employees know to take JARVIS’ stamp of approval on files as Tony’s own.  But Tony doesn’t employ anyone specialized enough to handle Winter’s issues… And the only therapist in New York specializing in severe PTSD, POW, brainwashing, and torture scenarios refuses to bend the letter of the law, even for Tony Stark.  Which means that if Winter is going to get professional help, Tony will have to sit with him in all his sessions. Joy.

 

When Pepper finds out, she gives him a flat, yet not unapproving look.  “It figures you’d finally end up going to the therapy you so desperately need because one of your indentureds needs it too.”

 

<//>

 

“Ok, time for lunch, Winter Wonderland, what are you in the mood for?”

 

<//>

 

“Alright, let’s try this again.  Dinner is a clean slate. We’re just going to start over, ok?  How do you feel about Italian?”

 

<//>

 

“So, pancakes or eggs?” Tony asks evenly.  

 

Winter’s jaw tenses, but he doesn’t answer.  

 

“There’s no right answer, buddy, just so you know.  You’re allowed to base your decision on any criteria you want.  Maybe you’ve got a sweet tooth, so you go with pancakes. Maybe you like the color yellow, so you go with eggs.  And maybe you don’t remember anything about either of those foods, so you just pick at random, just for the sake of trying new things,” Tony rambles softly while Winter clutches his head.  

 

“I…  I remember, eggs.  Protein?” Winter virtually whispers, his shoulders hunched in a tense ball as if he’s expecting to be laid into at any moment.  

 

“Nutritional needs can totally be the deciding factor.  Just don’t tell Pepper I admitted that. Eggs it is.”

 

<//>

 

“You want pepperoni or sausage on the pizza?

 

<//>

 

“Jeans jacket or leather jacket?”

 

<//>

 

“Keep the red star, or get rid of it?”

 

“Get rid of it,” Winter says in an uncharacteristically quick display.  

 

“Yeah?  No problem, Tastee Freeze, consider it done.”

 

“It was Hydra’s mark.  I am not Hydra’s anymore,” Winter says, looking to Tony as if for confirmation.  

 

“Excellent reasoning,” Tony nods.  There’s the tiniest spark of emotion in Winter’s eyes, but it’s gone almost instantly.  Even so, Tony finds it encouraging. 

 

“I have seen your mark on the others,” Winter tells him after Tony has removed the last of the star, “SI stands for Stark Industries.  Is that what you will mark me with?”

 

Tony stills, setting aside his tools for a moment.  “Sounds like now is a good time to go over the details of your ownership,” he says, waiting for an acknowledging look from Winter before continuing.  “You see, when SI, or I, or Pep on my behalf, buy a slave, their contract is immediately converted into indentured servitude. You said you’ve noticed my mark, I’m guessing you mean on people’s shirts around here, right?”

 

Winter nods.

 

“Indentured servants don’t  _ have  _ to be branded, only display a superficial symbol of ownership.  So we just keep a robust stock of SI branded merchandise, clothing, etc. on hand.  You’re not a slave anymore, Winter. I’m not going to carve some archaic symbol of ownership into your flesh, or metal, as it were,” Tony explains to him seriously.

 

“I lack parameters for indentured servitude,” Winter says, still with a robotic lilt to it, but he hazards a glance at Tony’s face.

 

Tony nods, as if he’s not surprised.  “Indentured servitude is like being rented.  It’s temporary ownership, until you’ve worked off your debt.”

 

“You bought me from Hydra.  I cannot ever repay a debt of that magnitude,” Winter says, though he doesn’t seem too broken up about never being free of Tony.  

 

Tony is just glad to see that he has an inherent understanding of how awful Hydra was.  He’s been tortured and abused, had his fucking  _ mind wiped _ , but he still understands somewhere deep down inside himself that he’s a person and not a machine.  No matter how much Hydra tried to make him believe otherwise. 

 

“Well, lucky for you, contract law doesn’t recognize metaphorical debt.  All you have to work off is the amount that was paid for you initially, at a minimum.  Some shadier organizations will roll upkeep costs into that too, but really, only assholes who don’t ever want to actually let you be free do that,” Tony explains.  

 

“Indentured servitude is common?” Winter asks.  

 

It’s one of the few questions the man has taken the initiative to ask on his own, so Tony isn’t about to draw too much attention to it and make him realize that he’s  _ questioning  _ Tony.

 

“A few corporations offer it.  The government too. Though, there’s lots of cases of abuse of the program.  Hammer Tech, SHIELD, and of course the Post Office come to mind. I could have digitized SI’s mail room years ago, but too many kids these days end up not being able to pay their student loans and get conscripted into walking mail routes.  With the ‘care and upkeep’ adjustments to their amounts owed, they’d never get out if someone didn’t buy up their contacts and let them work things off of an unadjusted amount,” Tony says, keeping an eye on Winter as he puts his tools away.  The man looks a little overwhelmed, so Tony doesn’t press it any further. 

 

Later, when they’re eating dinner, Winter asks him what his job is, what he’s supposed to be doing for Tony.  

 

“Well, Pepper’s in charge of finding jobs for all our new hires.  Honestly, I have no idea at this point. Maybe you can be my emotional support assassin,” Tony rambles.  “Uh, sorry, forget I said that. I’m running on 40+ hours without sleep right now,” Tony cringes, realizing Winter has absolutely  _ no  _ context for that joke.  

 

“I will ask Ms. Potts to define the parameters of my...employment,” Winter says with a nod.  

 

“In the morning?” Tony suggests, knowing Pepper is prickly about her down time being disturbed.  

 

Winter nods again, agreeing.  

 

Tony’s pretty sure he’s taking that as an order, but it’s really in the man’s own best interest not to get on Pepper’s bad side…

 

<//>

 

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to run that by me again, I had a brief auditory hallucination, just then,” Tony says, blinking as he tries to focus on the words Winter is saying.  

 

“Ms. Potts indicated that I will be paid the maximum wage allowable for indentured servitude for performing the following tasks,” Winter repeats.

 

“Ok, slow this part down a little, this is where you lost me last time,” Tony says, focusing.  

 

Winter blinks at him and nods.  “Getting Tony Stark to attend therapy, getting Tony Stark to eat three meals a day, getting Tony Stark to sleep regularly, preferably at least eight hours per day, up to and including naps if necessary.  I am also to be paid for any extracurricular activities that get you out of the Tower, end quote,” Winter relays, very likely verbatim. 

 

“JARVIS, get me a screen to Pepper,” Tony says, crossing his arms in a huff.  

 

Pepper is seated at her desk with three different stacks of paper in front of her, a venti Starbucks, and a bottle of Advil.  

 

“You’re fired,” Tony says, face straight, as soon as she looks up at him.

 

“Ok,” Pepper says, dropping her pen on the desk.

 

“Wait!  You’re not  _ fired  _ fired.  I’m just kidding,” Tony says, throwing his hands up in a motion to stop her.  “You know I would never do that. I’m just upset, I’m just a little  _ concerned _ , about the track you’ve taken for Winter’s paying off of his contract,” Tony says, giving her a knowing look.  

 

“Well I’m not.  And I’m in charge of acquisition assignments, so deal with it,” Pepper says, her head doing that little minuscule tilt thing that means she is not to be trifled with.

 

Seeing the mood she’s in, Tony decides to do the smart thing and just says “...  Yes ma’am,” and then signs off the video call. He scrubs at his face a few times, then looks over to Winter apologetically.  “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

 

“Parameters do not vary excessively from my day to day functions already,” Winter says, frowning just slightly, “This assignment is not,  _ difficult _ .”  

 

Tony makes a sort of wishy-washy head nodding motion, “Well, no, not physically…”

 

“Ms. Potts’ reasoning is sound.  Tony Stark is Stark Industries’ most valuable asset.  Tony Stark also displays an inability to properly care for himself.  Assets must maintain optimal functionality if they are to be of best use,” Winter says.

 

“That was how she laid it out for you, huh?” Tony says, “Yeah, ok.  And if I don’t go along with it, you don’t get your freedom as quickly…  You know what?” he says, eyeing the prototype of the new StarkPad release, “Two can play at that game, Winter my pal, come on, it’s nap time.”

 

Tony goes over to the couch he keeps in the workshop and stretches out on it.  “It will totally count as you ‘getting’ me to sleep if you spread that blanket out over me,” Tony suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.  

 

Winter takes the blanket and tucks Tony in with it.  

 

Tony closes his eyes, even though he isn’t tired, just to spite the universe.  And by the universe, he means Pepper. 

 

“This is the easiest assignment I have ever had,” Winter says, looking at Tony laying on the couch.  He has an odd expression on his face, one that Tony can’t quite make out.

 

“Careful, don’t jinx yourself, Winter,” Tony says with a sigh, closing his eyes again.  

 

“Jinx…  If I do not have to pull you out of trash cans, you will not be the worst one I have looked after,” Winter says, his gaze far away.  

 

Tony cracks an eye open.  The,  _ their  _ therapist said not to push too hard for more old memories to come, that they would come when they came,  _ if _ they were going to come back at all.  There was really no knowing for sure what the long term effects of something like The Chair would be.

 

“Well, Rhodey did have to fish me out of a couple dumpsters back in the day, so I make no promises,” Tony says, closing his eyes again.  Huh, who would have known, he actually does have something in common with Captain America after all…

 

<//>  

 

A week later, in therapy, Winter confesses that he isn’t exactly keen on being  _ free _ , but he sees how uncomfortable Tony is with  _ owning _ , so he continues to work on it.  

 

The doctor spends the rest of the session after that assuring Tony that it’s actually a good thing that Winter has progressed enough to have  _ wants _ , even if his outlook is still skewed.  

 

“Let’s focus on developing the ability to want something, to have a preference, in Winter in smaller ways, before we work up to the overhaul of society,” he suggests as Tony dries his eyes.  

 

“Yeah.  Sure thing, doc.  We can do that. We’ve kind of already been working on it,” Tony explains.  

 

“If you ask me how I  _ feel  _ about lunch, there is only a 40% chance of inducing a panic attack now,” Winter nods.

 

“And it used to be, like, 90%, so, yeah.  Progress,” Tony says.

 

<//>  

 

It takes months for Winter to get used to being allowed to, to get used to being  _ expected  _ to make decisions for himself.  Sometimes when they have an extra hard therapy session, Tony will ask him if he wants to do something fun afterward.  

 

One time they went out for ice cream, but Winter was overwhelmed by all the choices of flavors, so he just said chocolate.  

 

He felt this odd sort of sad anxiety over it for the whole rest of the day, which was weird, because he didn’t usually have problems  _ after  _ a decision was made…  

 

“What’s up, Winter Wonderland?  You’re moodier than usual, today,” even Tony can see that something is bothering him.  

 

“I didn’t want chocolate.  I don’t know what I wanted.  It… I’ve felt anxious all day about it, but the decision is over and done with?” Winter says, looking to Tony for guidance.  

 

“Well, we all regret decisions sometimes...” Tony says.

 

Winter nods.  “I,  _ regret _ , choosing plain chocolate.  … Knowing the word for this feeling does not help.”

 

“Jeez, I’m probably the last person who should be helping you figure out how to deal with your emotions in a healthy manner…  Ok, so, yes, regret is a thing that you’re feeling… But! That wasn’t the last ice cream you’ll ever have in your life, so now you know for next time, to take a little more time to think it over, choose something else.  Maybe some toppings, maybe a whole different flavor,” Tony gestures with his hands, hoping he’s making sense.

 

“That was not the last ice cream I will have in my life?  You do not know that,” Winter frowns at him. 

 

One step forward, two steps back.

 

“Ok, so, hope for the future is a thing that normal people have?” Tony tells him, “Most people don’t go around thinking that every meal will be their last.  There will be more ice cream again. It’s ok to look forward to good things happening in the future, because usually...usually they do, happen,” Tony tells him, only he starts tearing up himself at the end of his explanation.  

 

Two hours, an emergency call to their therapist, and a cheese pizza later, Tony and Winter are sitting propped up against each other on the couch, with both their eyes red rimmed and swollen.  

 

“Being self aware sucks,” Tony says without moving.  

 

“No, it doesn’t,” Winter counters.  

 

If Tony wasn’t so emotionally exhausted, he’d do a little happy dance at hearing Winter  _ contradict  _ him.

 

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Winter, sir,” JARVIS adds.  

 

“I’m going to tell Pepper you two are ganging up on me,” Tony whines.  

 

All Winter says is “Ok.”  

 

<//>

 

“You have to eat, it’s already an hour past dinner time.”

 

“I’ll eat when I’m dead.”

 

“That is the wrong saying, and you know it,” Winter argues.  

 

Tony quickly hides the small smile on his face as Winter rounds the workbench on him.

 

<//>  

 

After three months of radio silence, Tony gets a call from Steve, letting him know they haven’t found anything yet.  Winter is sitting on the couch in the lab, out of the shot of the feed, but perfectly capable of walking into it at any time if he  _ wanted _ .  

 

“Well, as young as you are, three months of your life wasted isn’t a huge deal, I guess,” Tony shrugs when Steve delivers the news.  “As old as I am though, I have to be more productive with my time. Like, oh, I don’t know, assimilating the remains of a defunct spy organization into my corporation's ranks.  Little stuff like that.”

 

“You know, for a guy who claims to be so anti-slave, you sure didn’t have a problem buying up all those contracts at the drop of a hat, did you?  Why don’t you just set them free and be done with it?” Steve lashes out, probably more out of frustration at his own lack of results than anything else, but still.  Tony isn’t about to just take that laying down.

 

“Oh, wake up and smell the thinly veiled  _ nationalism _ , Steve.  You think SHIELD was some universally beloved organization?  You think  _ America  _ is?  Because they both have plenty of enemies.  Enemies with very real, very legitimate grievances, who would love to have some low hanging fruit to go after.  Being owned by Stark Industries is  _ protection  _ for these people,” Tony says, as articulate as ever, even when he’s pissed.  

 

“Look, I didn’t call to fight with you, Tony.  I just wanted to let you know we’re back in D.C. for the time being, if anything comes up,” Steve sighs.

 

“Roger, Rogers.  If I get it up you’ll be the first to know,” Tony says with a fake smile and bat of his eyelashes.  

 

Steve rolls his eyes and says, “Bye Tony.”

 

“Bye Steve.”

 

Tony rubs at the dull ache behind his eyes for a second once the call is disconnected.  

 

“I knew him,” Winter says, his voice thick, “I knew him, when he was smaller.”

 

“Yeah?” Tony asks, even though he already knows.  

 

Winter nods.  “A lot of what I remember...is about  _ him _ .  Almost more than is about me,” he adds, sounding just a touch frustrated.  

 

“From what I gather, he was a huge part of your life,” Tony replies.  

 

“When I see him now, all I can think about are Hydra’s standing kill orders.  I want to bash his head in, but I don’t know why, and I want to make him eat a hot meal, but I don’t know why,” Winter confesses, tearing up.  

 

“Well, that explains why you didn’t feel the need to reveal yourself…” Tony sighs, going over to Winter’s side and giving him a one armed hug.  “Hey, you’ll get there, buddy, ok? Time is all you need, and it happens to be the one thing you have plenty of. Well, time and extensive therapy, but same supply of them,” Tony says, joking around a little to lighten the mood.  

 

Winter cracks a watery smile for him and nods.  

 

Tony prays that time and extensive therapy will be enough.

 

<//>

 

Steve keeps fucking off to eastern Europe on “Hydra raids”, and Tony keeps Winter’s confidence every time the man calls to check in.  

 

Winter keeps going to therapy, and dragging Tony with him, and Tony keeps dragging Winter out to do “fun” things to compensate afterward. 

 

Almost before he knows it, a year has gone by since Winter walked into his lobby.

 

They celebrate it as a year of being Hydra-free for Winter, who is slowly trying to decide if he maybe wants to reclaim the name James, and cast off the last of Hydra’s  _ code  _ name.  It’s a big decision though, so Tony doesn’t rush him.  

 

<//>

 

“Brand new shiny name, brand new shiny arm, you’re moving up in the world now, Jim-Bob,” Tony grins as he gives James the all clear on the last set of tests with his new mechanical arm.  

 

James moves his arm continually for a few moments, flexing his fingers and rotating his wrist.  He still hasn’t gotten up from his chair beside Tony’s workbench, he just sits there in awe of his new appendage.  One he chose. 

 

Tony beams at him, happy to see how far James has come in such a comparatively short time.  Compared to 70 years of being owned by Hydra, anyway.

 

James looks up from his arm and sees Tony smiling from ear to ear, and he can’t help but return the grin.  “Thank you, Tony. This means everything to me. You’re probably one of the few people alive who could possibly understand just  _ how  _ much.”

 

“Hey, it’s no problem.  It was an honor. Hell, it was a challenge, and you know how few of those I get to have.  I should be thanking  _ you _ ,” Tony says, as if it was nothing.

 

James reaches up with his metal fingers and brushes them over Tony’s cheek.  Tony freezes as James leans up and presses their lips together. “I can feel you,” James says softly, then presses their mouths together more firmly as his hand flexes against the back of Tony’s neck.  Tony melts into the kiss before he can stop himself. 

 

But stop himself he does.

 

“James,” he says gently, pulling away, “We can’t do this.  It isn’t right for  _ me  _ to do this…”

 

“Why?” James asks him, just as gently, “Why can’t two people who’ve both helped each other heal so much, let themselves have this?”

 

“Because even as far as you’ve come, and I’ll admit,  _ we’ve _ come,  _ this  _ is a whole different minefield of issues that we haven’t even talked about,” Tony says, stepping back a little.   

 

“Let’s talk about them now then,” James says, getting up from his seat.

 

“I meant in therapy.  Look, there are a dozen reasons why this is a bad idea.  You could have Stockholm syndrome, you’re completely dependent on me and could subconsciously be trying to assure your place here, you don’t have anyone else around that you feel safe exploring these urges with, etc, etc, and all of them indicate I’d be taking  _ major  _ advantage of you if I allowed it,” Tony tells him.

 

“I don’t have Stockholm,” James says, giving Tony  _ a look _ , “And I’m not dependent on you for my survival.  I could get by on the streets just fine. I’m not some accountant with a squirrel obsession that initially joined a government organization for the health insurance.”

 

“You didn’t refute the last one,” Tony says, giving James  _ a look _ right back.

 

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you make me feel safe,” James says with a raw honesty that makes Tony’s heart give a little flip.  

 

“Be that as it may, I, uh, I’m going to need you to stay over there,” Tony says as James advances on him again.  

 

James doesn’t listen though, coming right into Tony’s space and kissing him again.  

 

“You want me.  I want you. I don’t see what the problem is,” James tells him, resting his forehead against Tony’s.  

 

Tony puts a hand on James’ chest, the pressure a clear signal for him to stop, “Because I  _ own you _ , that’s why,” he says forcefully, “I could put a bullet through your head right now, show the authorities the footage of you disobeying a direct order, and no one would question it.  They’d throw your body in an unmarked grave and it wouldn’t even make the papers,” Tony hisses at him, frustrated and angry, though not  _ at James _ , just at the situation.  

 

“You wouldn’t hurt me,” James says with conviction.

 

He starts to lean forward again, only for a metal hand on his shoulder to rip him backward.

 

“Sir would not.  But that does not mean that  _ I _ won’t,” JARVIS’ voice comes from the Ironman suit, “You were told to stop, and you  _ will stop _ .”

 

“J?” Tony says, flabbergasted and kind of proud at the same time, of the initiative being displayed by his A.I.  

 

“You are compromised, sir.  Footage of this altercation is being reviewed by Ms. Potts as we speak.”

 

“Compromised?” James says, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Look, J, cut him some slack, alright?  He doesn’t understand what’s going on here,” Tony says.

 

“The fact that I have not fired on him already  _ is _ cutting him slack.  I fear you are cutting him too much, sir,” JARVIS answers, never lowering the gauntlet he has aimed at James the entire time.

 

A screen pops up in the middle of their standoff, with Pepper’s serious face greeting them.  

 

“James, I need you to return to your quarters,” she says, not unkindly.  

 

James looks from the suit, to Pepper, then to Tony, hanging his head a little as he nods and turns on his heel.  Only after he’s left the workshop does JARVIS power down the suit. 

 

“I’m assigning him a sexual harassment seminar,” Pepper says, “We hold them all the time for employees, no ‘buts’, Tony.  And he can see one of SI’s therapists by himself to get the rundown on consent in the 21st century, he doesn’t need a POW specialist for that.”

 

“We have been working on getting him to be  _ able  _ to tell me no, to be  _ able  _ to disobey me  _ for a year _ , Pep, you cannot hold this over his head,” Tony says passionately.  

 

“One pass, Tony.  Only one. And this was it.  I’m not holding it over his head, this is me working to rectify the situation now that we realize what’s going on.  This is teaching and providing the correct information to him, this is not punishment,” Pepper says, continuing to talk over him when Tony tries to interject.  

 

By the time she finishes, Tony decides it’s better to just swallow what he was going to say anyway.  It just makes him sound  _ compromised _ .  

 

It’s silent in the workshop for a moment.  

 

“Ok, Tony?” Pepper demands verbal acknowledgement from him.  

 

“Sure.  Yes, ok, Pep.  You’re completely right,” Tony agrees.  

 

“JARVIS, you did the right thing, even if Tony won’t admit it,” Pepper says with authority.  

 

“Thank you, Ms. Potts.”

 

After the screen winks out, and Tony has gone and collapsed onto his workshop couch tiredly, he throws his arm over his eyes and says, “Thanks, J.”

 

“You are welcome, sir.”

 

<//>  

 

James doesn’t try to kiss him again.  He doesn’t even look at Tony the next few times they’re in the same room together.  

 

After he attends the sexual harassment seminar, his attitude is less standoffish, but not the same as it used to be.  

 

A week in to seeing his own separate therapist, James tells him he doesn’t want to go to their normal joint appointments anymore.  

 

“Do you mind if I ask why?” Tony asks him.  

 

“Maybe I just like being able to talk to someone without you being there.  You do realize the other guy ended up catering to you most of the time, right?” James says.  

 

Tony very maturely doesn’t bring up the fact that they have a lot of the same issues with being POW’s, tortured, having their bodies modified against their will, etc, just a different severity to those issues.  “And that is exactly why I hired and keep on staff a plethora of shrinks who are willing to meet one on one with slaves. So you’re welcome,” Tony says, giving him a semi-fake smile. He shows himself out of the room after that.  

 

When he calls their doc to cancel the appointment, the man tells him that James putting some separation between them may not be such a bad thing.  And he also reminds Tony that just because James isn’t coming to the appointment doesn’t mean that Tony can’t. 

 

“...  I guess I’ll see you at three o’clock then, doc,” Tony sighs, figuring he’s come this far, he might need the continued help with helping James anyway...  

 

<//>

 

“What would you do if I asked you to free me?” James springs on him one day, months after their little  _ encounter _ .  

 

“I would free you,” Tony says immediately, without hesitation.  

 

“Just like that?” James asks, seeming a little shocked, “Why?”

 

“Because you want it,” Tony says simply.

 

“This is me asking then,” James says, emotion clouding his voice, “I want to be free.”

 

“Ok,” Tony nods.  “J, file it.”

 

No more than a few seconds later, JARVIS speaks up and says, “Filed, sir.  James Buchanan Barnes is now a free man, pending his own signature.”

 

James looks down at his hands, the metal and flesh side by side, and takes a deep breath, letting it out in a shudder as he opens and closes them.  Tony wishes he knew what was going through the man’s mind, but at the same time, he’s glad he doesn’t. Because that’s a privacy James is owed. 

 

“Thank you,” James says, giving Tony a heartfelt smile.  

 

“You’re welcome.  Any time, James. If you had wanted it at any time, I would have given it to you.  I was just waiting for you to be ready,” Tony assures him. 

 

“I have to ask…” James says, giving him a hopeful look, “It…  It changes, things, right? For you not to  _ own _ me?”

 

Tony was half afraid this was going to be his next question, so he’s ready for it.  

 

“It…  Changes some things, yes…  But, James…” Tony trails off a little, because part of him will hate having to say it, so he’d rather avoid it if he can.

 

James starts getting emotional right away, and his voice is thick with tears already when he asks, “I don’t understand...   _ Why _ ?”  

 

“That’s the biggest part of why I can’t, James, because you don’t understand.  Because even though you’re free now, your decision isn’t an informed one, not really,” Tony explains softly.

 

James just looks at him for a moment, as if processing his words.  The sadness on his face shifts to anger as he stands to his feet. “Fuck you,” he spits out, insulted, just as Tony figured he would be.

 

There isn’t any other way that Tony knows how to describe it though, not that he didn’t already go over that first time…  

 

“You think you know so much more about how the world works?  Sitting up here in your Tower, high above everyone else? You’re just another slaver, just like the rest of them,” James says vehemently, obviously trying to hurt him back.  

 

Tony begins to tear up as he nods along.  “Wow, I can see why they called you an expert marksman,” he says, smiling at James through his tears.  

 

James huffs and turns around, striding over to the elevator and demanding JARVIS take him to the lobby.  

 

The doors open less than halfway down to his destination though, revealing a  _ very  _ put upon Pepper Potts, who’s carrying a clipboard and a pen.  She eyes him coolly as she hands him the papers that make him a free man.  With a click, she silently hands him the pen, indicating he needs to sign at the bottom.  

 

Tony’s signature is already on the documents, dated two days after James initially showed up at the Tower.  

 

James has never felt like more of an asshole than he does in that moment as he signs in his freedom.  

 

Pepper rides down with him as she sorts out his copy and hands it to him.  The elevator stops again a few floors before the lobby, to let her out. As she’s leaving, she says over her shoulder, “If you think that Tony Stark, Stark Industries, or the Maria Stark Foundation operate just like every other billionaire, corporation, or charity on the planet, I suggest you do a little more research while you’re out there... _ running _ .”  

 

The doors close smoothly behind her.  

 

James rides the rest of the way down to the lobby alone, and when he gets there,  _ run away _ is exactly what he does.  

 

<//>

 

After six months of no contact, Tony finally admits to himself that James isn’t coming back.  

 

“You did the right thing, sir,” is all JARVIS can say to comfort his creator as Tony cries.  He tries hunting the man down himself, if for no other reason than to show sir that James is ok, but there’s just, nothing.  No trace. Once he left the Tower, it’s like he turned into a ghost and just disappeared. If JARVIS didn’t know how much effort it takes to stay invisible like that, he would suspect the worst…  But as it is he takes it as a sign that James does not want to be found.

 

It’s not a mark in his favor.

 

And JARVIS has a long memory.

 

<//>

 

Two years after James takes off, Tony has given up all hope of ever seeing the man again.  Which is of course when he waltzes back in to Tony’s life. 

 

“Sir, you have an additional... _ guest _ ...arriving.  He insisted on seeing you, despite the presence of your other company,” JARVIS says.

 

“Additional guest?  Everyone’s already here,” Tony says, looking around at the Avengers and their few plus ones, “Did you clear this, J?”  

 

“I did, sir, after some  _ extensive  _ bargaining,” JARVIS says haughtily.  

 

“Since when do you bargain with uninvited guests?” Tony asks as he heads toward the elevator, “If you let a TMZ pap in here as retaliation for me putting you on babysitting duty, I will never forgive you,” Tony says jokingly.  

 

“Sir, being task with the care and watching over of my baby sister is the easiest assignment I have ever had,” JARVIS informs him drolly.  

 

Tony sticks his tongue out at one of JARVIS’ cameras, knowing exactly what his statement is meant to imply about the difficulty of watching over Tony.  There’s something about the wording of it that tugs at the back of Tony’s brain though… 

 

He’s only halfway across the room when the elevator doors open and James Buchanan Barnes steps out of them.  The former Winter Soldier is dressed casually, carrying a large case that looks like some sort of musical instrument...

 

“James…”

 

“ _ Bucky _ ?” Steve drops his glass in shock, making an immediate b-line for him.  

 

James keeps his eyes on Tony, though he’s obviously tracking Steve’s approach well enough to hold out his free hand to shake at the exact perfect time to cut off a hug from the man.  

 

“You’re Steve, right?” James says, giving him his attention for a moment.

 

“Buck-  Yes, I’m Steve.  You do remember me, don’t you?” Steve asks earnestly.  

 

“Sort of,” James says with an apologetic smile.  “Look, I’m actually here on business, so, maybe we could talk later?” he asks, giving Steve a friendly pat on the shoulder.  

 

“Business?” Steve says incredulously.  He notices that James’ attention is on Tony’s approach, and stays to see what’s going on here.  

 

“I owe you an apology,” James says first off, before Tony can get a word out.  

 

“Well, that’s a good start,” Tony says casually, not committing to forgiveness.  

 

“I was hoping after we deal with this, that you would be willing to hear me out,” James says, motioning toward the case in his hands.  

 

“That depends, what did you bring me?” Tony asks, playing along.  

 

“I’m sorry, do you two know each other?” Steve asks, looking between the two of them.

 

“James used to work for me,” Tony says, never taking his eyes off the man in question.  

 

“ _ Work _ for you?” Natasha says, though as soon as James’ eyes flick over to her, she looks like she regrets speaking.  

 

“Yeah.  Tony helped out a lot of us that got burned by your’s and Steve’s data dump,” James says, hefting the case up, “Which is why he’s the only person on the face of the planet that I thought I could trust with this.  Because I know he’s used to having absolute power over someone, and doing the right thing with it.”

 

James opens up the case to reveal  _ Loki’s scepter _ .  

 

“I need you to help me find a way to destroy this thing,” he says after he shuts it again.  

 

“Where did you get that?” Natasha and Clint both bristle at the sight of it.  

 

“That’s a good question,” Tony echos.  

 

“That’s supposed to be in SHIELD custody.  What’s left of SHIELD, anyway…” Steve says, looking torn.  

 

“I pulled it out of a  _ Hydra  _ base in Sokovia.   _ What’s left of Hydra, anyway _ .  They were using it to experiment on the local orphans,” James says with a sigh.  “In their notes, they mentioned that they thought it was sentient all on it’s own.  Not only could you control people  _ with _ it, but  _ it  _ could control people without any prompting.  I put it in this lead lined case, and it seems to block the worst of it, but it needs to be destroyed, the sooner the better.”

 

“Doors open from both ends,” Clint speaks up, looking pale.  

 

“What?  Both ends?…  It’s not the scepter, it’s something, someone coming  _ through  _ it,” Tony says, going pale himself.  

 

“Loki…  He talked to people, beings, on other planets with it, multiple times.  There definitely could be something else on the other end of it,” Clint agrees.  

 

“Alright, so we blow this thing up, no more direct line to call on earth, I like it,” Tony says.  

 

“Wait, if we destroy it, won’t whoever’s using it  _ know  _ that we did?  Wouldn’t that alert them?” Steve asks.  

 

“Spangles, they already know that we know that they exist and are coming for us.  This is exactly what I’ve been talking about since the battle of New York. It’s not over, there are still beings out there that are gunning for us.   _ Coming for us _ ,” Tony says.  

 

“I agree with Tony,” Bruce speaks up, “There was no way to know before, how much of that space army the nuke took out.  Well, here’s our proof that they’re still out there, because we just found a spy camera.”

 

“I agree as well,” Thor nods, “If this scepter holds such influence, it can be nothing but ill for earth.  You do not have the means to combat such things.”

 

“I appreciate everyone’s agreement, but I’m going to ensure this thing gets destroyed no matter what any of you think,” James tells them casually.

 

“God, I’ve missed you,” Tony says with a sigh, then seems to realize he’s revealed more than he meant to with that.  “So, destroying alien artifacts, let’s do this. I have some property upstate that is  _ great  _ for blowing shit up.”

 

“What do you have there that you don’t down in your lab?” Steve asks.  

 

“It’s not what I have there, it’s what I  _ don’t  _ have there, which is a surrounding metropolitan population measured in the millions,” Tony tells him, “Who knows what this thing will do when it’s destroyed.  It could have a huge blast radius, it could put out some bullshit wave of magical mind control, there’s just no way to know.”

 

“Alright, everyone suit up then.  Avengers, assemble,” Steve says seriously.  

 

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to get to hear him say that,” Darcy says, nodding in fascination.  “So, do you, like, practice that in the mirror?” she asks Steve, mimicking putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest.  

 

James snorts.  

 

“Shut up,” Steve tells him flatly, yet with a joking, familiar edge to it.  

 

“Make me,” James says, flashing Steve a smile.  

 

“Save it for the playground, kids,” Tony rolls his eyes, “Everyone with a superhero alter ego, into the quinjet.”

 

It takes them a few tries to actually destroy the whole scepter.  The handle and hooked attachment burn away fairly easily, but there’s a small, gem like stone left behind that looks far too ominous to just be left intact.  Tony ends up having to rig up what is essentially another homemade particle accelerator to get the job done. The gem cracks, then shatters completely under extended exposure to the beam.  There is both an explosion  _ and  _ a wave of magical mind bullshit, but it’s more like a scream of rage than any attempt to actually  _ control  _ them.  

 

“Thank you, Tony, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get another good night’s sleep again, knowing that thing existed,” James tells him on the flight back.  

 

“You’re welcome, James.  Thank you for trusting me with it,” Tony replies sincerely.  

 

“I still plan on apologizing more thoroughly, when we get back to the Tower, if you’ll let me,” James tells him.  

 

“And you need to have that talk with Steve, too,” Tony reminds him.  

 

“Steve can wait, I didn’t hurt him like I hurt you,” James insists.  

 

Tony looks at him searchingly for a moment, then nods.  

 

Back at the Tower, JARVIS has already seen the rest of the guests out, or to their rooms, long ago.  Tony lets James follow him to his workshop, wanting privacy for this conversation. 

 

“I am so, so sorry Tony,” he says almost as soon as they’re in it.  

 

“For what?” Tony asks, thinking to throw him off a little.  

 

“For kissing you against your will,” James says first off, giving Tony pause.  “I… You were right. My head wasn’t on nearly as straight as I thought it was.  Every time I think back on what happened, I wish J had just blasted my ass with a repulsor,” James admits.  

 

“That can still be arranged,” JARVIS inserts.  

 

“Please, J, I’m being apologized to, here.  Let the man speak,” Tony says, motioning for James to go on.  

 

“I’m sorry for the horrible things I said to you before I left too.  I know, I knew then that you weren’t like any owner I’d ever had before.  I just wanted to hurt you, because I was hurting. It wasn’t right,” James says with conviction, starting to tear up a little.  

 

“It’s ok,” Tony starts to say, but James interrupts him.

 

“I’m not done yet, just so you know.  I shouldn’t have just run off like that either.  I was embarrassed as soon as I realized what I’d said, and I was afraid to talk to you.  Then the longer I stayed away, the more difficult it seemed to come back…”

 

“James,” Tony says, pulling him into a hug, “I forgive you, ok?  I forgave you a long time ago. I know, it’s ok, I know,” he says as James accepts the hug and cries into his shoulder a bit.  

 

“Setting me free to discover what a fuck up I am was exactly what I needed to get some perspective,” James sighs as he finally pulls away.  “So trust me when I say that if you shoot me down this time, I’ll respect your ‘no’, and I won’t bring it up again,” James says, looking him right in the eye.  “Go out with me?” he asks, slightly less confidently, but with determination. 

 

Tony looks up at him and smiles.  

 

“Ok, James.  Since you asked so nicely.”

  
  
  
  
  


The End

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> "The greatest ownership of all is to glance around and understand." - William Stafford (poet)


End file.
